The University of New Mexico Lobos will attempt to improve to 3-0 in the Mountain West Saturday, but to do so the Lobos will have to win a second straight contest on the road.
UNM (11-3) will take on San Jose State Saturday night.
Wednesday night, the Lobos had to survive a scare at Wyoming. The Cowboys forced overtime in Laramie, but some clutch shooting by Cleveland Thomas and a big block by Alex Kirk on the defensive end gave the Lobos a 72-69 win.
The Spartans (6-9, 0-3 in MW play) will head into their contest with the Lobos off a 66-64 loss to Colorado State Wednesday night. The Spartans couldn’t take advantage of a big night from Rashad Muhammad, who dropped in 28 points against the Rams.

The New Mexico State University Aggies men’s basketball team will try to run its conference record to 2-0 when it hosts Seattle University.
That game is set for tonight in Las Cruces.
The Aggies (12-5), winners of five straight, opened their WAC schedule on a good note last weekend, topping Grand Canyon University.
Seattle (8-6), meanwhile, dropped its WAC opener to Kansas City. Kansas City is 2-0 in the conference and is currently atop the WAC standings.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — The “way” in Laramie wasn’t exactly smooth or easy, and took an extra five minutes to find. But the University of New Mexico Lobo men’s basketball team did find a ‘way.’
The Lobos beat the Wyoming Cowboys 72-69 Wednesday night in Laramie, needing overtime to do it.
The Lobos managed it with some timely 3-pointers, some timely free throws by Cleveland Thomas and a few huge defensive plays.
Maybe the biggest defensive play of the game came with less than 16 seconds left, when Wyoming’s Riley Grabau was flashing unattended to the UNM rim looking at a layup that would have pushed Wyoming into a 71-70 lead.
Instead, Grabau found a 7-foot-wall in the form of Alex Kirk. Kirk came over from the weak side and slapped away Grabau’s potential go-ahead shot.
Thomas, who earlier had banged in a huge trey, pounced on the loose ball and was fouled. He knocked down both free throws to push UNM up 72-69.
UNM had to survive another Grabau 3-point attempt, but it fell short.
The Lobos gobbled up the rebound and gobbled up its second Mountain West win, an important road.

The vision of prognosticators looking in at the upcoming Mountain West race probably has changed, but only a bit.
There is still the “Big Four,” beginning with the University of New Mexico followed by Boise State, San Diego State and UNLV. But has the order changed from the preseason musings tossed out in October?
And is 10-2 Utah State good enough to change it to a “Big Five?”
And could it be that the rest of the MW teams are fired up to prove everyone wrong?
UNM was the almost-unanimous preseason pick to protect its MW title and return to the throne. Right now, there really is no reason to question that October pick.
But are the No. 20-ranked San Diego State Aztecs now the favorites heading into January?
For sure, this is going to be a dog-eat-dog race and there doesn’t look to be too many conference cupcakes, especially for teams playing on the road.
UNM is 9-3 with all three losses coming against quality teams.
Anytime you head into a conference race with maybe the best one-two inside game — Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow — and probably the best all-around guard — Kendall Williams — you know you are going to be a threat for that title.

Information sought in poaching case
ALAMOGORDO – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the apprehension of an individual or individuals believed to have illegally killed four deer and then dumped the carcasses near Alamogordo.
The deer carcasses were found Dec. 1 along Dulce Road in the Boles Acres subdivision south of Alamogordo. Most of the meat and the head of one deer had been removed. Several Wal-Mart bags of deer meat also were found at the site.
The person who found the carcasses reported seeing a maroon Ford F-150 pickup in the area of the dump site.
Anyone with information about this apparent poaching incident or any information about the Ford pickup is urged to call Operation Game Thief toll-free at 1-800-432-4263.
Callers also may contact Marcelino Peralta, Alamogordo District wildlife officer, at 575-430-4212. Callers need not identify themselves.
If the information leads to an arrest or filing of charges, the caller may be eligible for a $500 reward.
Youth waterfowl hunts set in Bernardo

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — For much of the season, New Mexico has been a 3-man basketball team offensively with Kendall Williams, Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk carrying more than their fair share of the scoring load.
But new options are starting to emerge for the Lobos as they try to patch the gap left by injured point guard Hugh Greenwood, who is expected back when the schedule resumes Jan. 4 with the start of Mountain West play against Colorado State.
Cullen Neal did an admirable job of running the point Monday, finishing with 18 points and seven assists, to lead New Mexico to an 80-68 win over Grand Canyon.
Neal drilled an open 3-pointer early in the game, then fed his teammates for buckets on three consecutive possessions the help the Lobos get out to a 15-3 lead in which every starter scored.
It’s all part of a renewed emphasis on distributing the ball, said Neal’s father, Lobos coach Craig Neal.
“It feels good that we’re finally making some shots,” he said. “I think our guys are really gelling and trusting their teammates and making the extra pass. I told the guys just the last two games, the only way you’re going to get back to your winning ways is if you’re playing together and sharing the ball.”